By KATIE FAULKNER
WELLSVILLE— Nick Sampogna (Elmira) and a 16-hit effort helped fuel the Wellsville Nitros over the Rochester Ridgemen, 16-3 in New York Collegiate Baseball League action, Sunday.
Sampogna allowed two runs on eight hits over seven innings of work. He struck out four before Matt Hunt (Manhattanville) took over for the final two innings, allowing two hits and one run.
“In the first two innings I struggled to locate my fastball, said Sampogna. “After talking to my pitching coach I fixed what I was doing wrong and I was able to put the ball into play and let my fielders do their work.”
Though the Ridgemen scored the first two runs of the game when Casey Claflin (Northwestern Ohio) connected on an RBI single to plate Devin Cerrato (Covenant) and Brooks Pitaniello (Harding) scored on a passed ball, Wellsville took the lead in the fifth.
Brett Migliore (Canisius) got things started with a leadoff double, followed by a Mike McNicholl (Eastern New Mexico) single. Max Franzone (Dominican) brought home Migliore with a fielder’s choice to break the 2-2 tie.
The Nitros exploded for a seven-run sixth inning to push the score out of the Ridgemen’s reach. Carson Shrode (Tennessee Martin) connected on an RBI double to plate Cole Tracy (Finger Lakes), before Pat Scholla (John Carroll) brought Shrode home with an RBI single. Migliore connected on his second double of the night to plate Scholla. A Jacob Means (Cowley County CC) three-RBI double plated Franzone, Migliore and Dalton Earl (SUNY IT).
Cerrato paced the offense for the Ridgemen, going 3-for-4 with one run scored. Ethan Luna (Southwestern) went 2-for-5, while Matt Jackson added two hits and an RBI.
With 16 hits on the night, Wellsville got contributions throughout its lineup. Tracy went 3-for-5 with two RBI. Earl went 3-for-5, while McNicholl added two hits and two RBI. Migliore, who is now batting a .310, paced the Nitros’ offense going 4-for-5 with two RBI and four runs scored.
“This summer I’ve been working on putting the ball into play,” said Migliore. “I’ve been trying to spread the ball up the middle more.”
As a five-year varsity baseball player and recent graduate of Wellsville High School, Migliore has been putting in the necessary work in order to be college ready at Canisius.
“I really just wanted to get better overall and improve all aspects of my game during my time here,” said Migliore.
As far as college goes, the First Team All-State shortstop says he is “looking forward to getting out of Wellsville for a while and enjoying a city.”
Joseph Done (Northwestern) gave up seven runs on nine hits in five innings on the mound for the Ridgemen. Jade Doyle (Ancilla) gave up three runs in one inning, while Jackson allowed six runs on three hits in two innings.
The Nitros have now gone 9-1 in their last 10 games. Wellsville improved to 19-17 on the season, while Rochester fell to 8-28.
The Nitros host the Olean Oilers (33-4) on Monday at 5 p.m.
The Ridgemen face the Hornell Dodgers (17-18) at Maple City Park on Monday at 7 p.m.
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